TechNewsWorld : Archives

TECH TREK
Chinese Authorities Net 11 in Piracy Bust

Wednesday - May 8, 2013

Police in Beijing arrested 11 suspects believed to be involved with a major high-definition downloading ring. The website, silu.com, was running what has been called an "unprecedented" operation. It reportedly boasted more than 400,000 registered members and offered under-the-table downloads for nearly 19,000 films and TV series. The catalog included everything from arthouse films to foreign blockbusters. As a full-service piracy provider, the site also had more than 3,300 music albums and 208 game software packages. [More...]

Skype Rival Viber Joins the Desktop Phone, Video Chat Party

Wednesday - May 8, 2013

Viber, a proprietary cross-platform instant messaging VoIP app for smartphones, is now available for Windows and Mac OS X desktops, Viber Media announced on Tuesday. The mobile version of Viber runs on Android, iOS, Symbian and some versions of the BlackBerry and Windows Phone OSes. [More...]

WHICH APPS DO I NEED?
All Things Appy: Top 5 Ratings Apps for iOS

Wednesday - May 8, 2013

Whatever you think of the controversy that periodically springs up over some ratings websites, they are undoubtedly useful for gathering information about businesses, products and services. Here we take a look at some of the best specialist ratings and search apps for iOS. At the top of the list is Yelp, which provides crowdsourced localized search for businesses close by. [More...]

Vaio Fit May Be the Laptop Windows 8 Has Been Looking For

Tuesday - May 7, 2013

Sony introduced its new line of entry-level laptops on Tuesday. The new Vaio Fit series starts at around $550 with the Fit E, which offers Intel's Core processors, discrete Nvidia graphics processors, and hybrid hard drives, as well as a full-sized keyboard and trackpad. The step-up Vaio Fit, at $649, offers an aluminum chassis. [More...]

Los Alamos Surfs Its Own Quantum Internet for 2 Years

Tuesday - May 7, 2013

Amid fears that state-sponsored cyberterrorists have set their sights on the U.S.'s critical infrastructure -- and complaints that the infrastructure's security is below par -- the Los Alamos National Laboratory said it has been testing a network using quantum cryptography for the past two years. [More...]

TECH TREK
Taiwanese University Sues Apple... Again

Tuesday - May 7, 2013

National Cheng Kung University may not have a fight song -- but it is definitely willing to fight. For the second time in a year, the Taiwanese university has sued Apple. The most recent suit is for alleged infringement of the university's patents relating to video compression technology in Apple software such as FaceTime and QuickTime. [More...]

HP Goes to Work With New ProBooks for SMBs

Tuesday - May 7, 2013

HP, facing difficulties in its desktop and laptop sales, on Monday unveiled two new series in its ProBook notebook computer line for small and medium businesses. The ProBook 400 series has five laptops with screen sizes ranging from 13.3 to 17.3 inches that are up to 36 percent thinner and 18 percent lighter than previous notebooks. [More...]

Gardening in Waterworld

Tuesday - May 7, 2013

One day, gardener Robert Mainville saw a show about hydroponics on PBS, and it fascinated him. Soon he had set up a hydroponic garden in his own yard -- forsaking his old soil plots -- and within months was harvesting tomatoes, cabbage, kale, and turnips. "It works fantastically," said Mainville, the owner of Cape Fear Hydrogardens. "The production you can get is amazing." [More...]

IE8 Exploit Had US Nuke Workers in Its Sights

Monday - May 6, 2013

A zero-day vulnerability in Internet Explorer 8 let hackers compromise a U.S. Department of Labor website linked to a database used by former Energy Department employees who had worked with nuclear weapons or uranium. That database was also used by Labor Department claims examiners. Security firm Invincea first reported the attack. [More...]

Fitbit Flex Takes You by the Wrist

Monday - May 6, 2013

Fitbit users who frequently forget or misplace their fitness trackers now have a new option: Fitbit Flex, a version of the popular Fitbit device that's designed to be worn on the wrist, became available on Monday. Fitbit Flex, which retails for $99.95, is a bit larger than the typical silicone awareness bracelet and features a pedometer, sleep tracker, vibrating alarm and calorie tracker. [More...]

No Starry Eyes Yet for Google Glass

Monday - May 6, 2013

There's plenty to lust after in Google Glass -- if you're a tech aficionado, that is. A beta version of Google's widely hyped, Web-connected eyewear has been out for a few weeks, and rave reviews have been the rule rather than the exception. Developers are building Google Glass apps to tempt and titillate, including one that lets a Google Glass wearer take a photo with the blink of an eye. [More...]

TECH TREK
Hacking Software Guru Faces the Music in US Court

Monday - May 6, 2013

Hamza Bendelladj, an Algerian national known by his alias "Bx1," appeared in an Atlanta court last week, where he faced a 23-count indictment stemming from his alleged participation in the cybercrime consortium responsible for hacking software known as "SpyEye." Bendelladj, 24, was the target of a three-year manhunt that ended in a Bangkok airport in January. [More...]

SPOTLIGHT ON SECURITY
Scan of Entire Internet Reveals Too Many Leaky Devices

Monday - May 6, 2013

There are 3.7 billion IP addresses on the Internet, and HD Moore has pinged every one of them. Moore is chief security officer at Rapid7, a cyberthreat and risk management company. In February, he decided as a hobby project to conduct a census of all the devices connected to the Internet, using a nest of computers in a spare room in his home. [More...]

OPINION
How HP Could Become the Next Apple

Monday - May 6, 2013

I was given a task the other day, and this happens every once in a while, to imagine a sequence of events that would turn HP from an industry problem to an industry leader in Apple's class. Apple went from being in far worse shape than HP's in now to become more valuable at its peak than even oil companies, so this isn't an impossible goal. [More...]

EXPERT ADVICE
Risk and Compliance: The Yin and Yang of Security

Saturday - May 4, 2013

Mushrooming industry and government mandates that govern IT security have led to a highly regulated environment and annual compliance fire drills. Compliance, however, does not necessarily equal better security. We are reminded of this fact nearly every day when breaches make headlines. So what role should compliance and risk management play? [More...]

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